1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to sectional construction barges of the type used for supporting construction equipment and/or other materials on a body of water.
2. Description of the Related Art
Sectional construction barges are commonly used to support construction equipment, such as cranes, construction tools, and building materials on a body of water during construction projects that are located in or near inland rivers or lakes, for example. The barges typically have a rectilinear configuration with a top support platform, a bottom platform, a pair of end walls, and a pair of side walls.
The barges are typically transported by semi-trailer trucks to a point of use, where cranes are used to place the barges in a body of water. The barges are then moved and aligned with one another in the body of water using tow or pull cables, for example, and are then connected to one another to form a substantially continuous platform for supporting construction equipment and building materials.
The barges may be connected to one another by a connection system in which the side and/or end walls of each barge include a pair of vertically spaced, elongate connection angles having horizontal flanges which are brought into overlapping relationship with similar flanges of an adjacent barge. A plurality of pins are then inserted through aligned openings in the overlapping sets of the upper and lower flanges.
One commonly used known barge weighs at least 26,000 lbs, or even more typically at least 27,000 lbs. The barge has an overall width dimension of about 10 feet, more particularly 10 feet and 4 inches as measured center-to-center between the connecting openings of the connection angles on its opposite sides, and an overall length dimension of about 41 feet, more particularly 41 feet and 4 inches as measured center-to-center between the connecting openings of the connection angles on its opposite ends. The barge has an overall depth dimension of 60.5 inches, as measured between its top and bottom platforms, which are formed of sheets of solid steel. The weight of this barge necessitates that only a single barge may be carried on a standard “lowboy” or flatbed-type trailer of a semi-trailer truck, which typically has a payload limit of 48,000 pounds.
A number of these barges are currently in use, and many contractors have an existing, and sometimes aging, inventory of such barges.
What is needed is a new construction barge that is an improvement over the foregoing.